Podcasts

Ian Forrest of The Share Centre examines the current state of the UK market, weighed down by Brexit uncertainty and other factors. He looks at a raft of updates on Christmas trading, including the likes of Morrison's, Sainsbury's and Tesco, wondering what conclusions we can draw about the retail sector. He also discusses the recent statement from Taylor Wimpey and looks ahead to expected news from Whitbread (minus Costa), Associated British Foods and Boohoo.

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box office, where much-garlanded The Favourite is snapping at the heels of Mary Poppins Returns. He also discusses the Robert Zemeckis Welcome to Marwen as well as RBG, the documentary about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. His DVD of the week is the Icelandic drama Under The Tree and James also pores over the Golden Globes and the BAFTA nominations.

Want to keep up with the latest earnings updates from the States? Well join Chris Hill and the Motley Fool Radio Show team here on Share Radio, direct from Washington DC, for news, views and analysis of the US stocks that matter. In this week's show: Which stocks have true potential for upside this year? What industries and trends should investors be watching? Which CEOs are on the hot seat? And which stocks should investors avoid? Aaron Bush, Matt Argersinger, Jason Moser, and Ron Gross discuss 20 potential investing opportunities in the year ahead and make some reckless predictions. Plus, we discuss Apple’s latest stumble and upcoming IPOs we’re excited to see.

Happy New NHS? Among last year's big stories was the 70th anniversary of our beloved health service and whether we are prepared to pay for it through higher taxes. Our campaign to out the rogue, sometimes criminal, private car park operatives began with a vengeance and will continue long into 2019. Editor Simon Lambert and host Georgie Frost also explain how to avoid losing your home because of inheritance tax. And are you ready to ditch your fossil-fueled car for an electric one yet? This story will run and run. Unlike the Range Rover Sport, which was judged to be the least reliable used car to buy last year. It's all part of our look back - and forward - over the big stories and campaigns of 2018.

This episode of Policy Matters is a cross-over show in which hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson are joined by the host of Economist Questions, Peter Urwin. As Peter is currently leading a large research project looking at young people’s pathways through education, Franz and Matt ask him about his own journey and how that affected his social mobility. They go on to discuss the problems that the Further Education system faces in providing both second chances for those who don’t achieve well at age 16 as well as higher-level training for those more suited to the vocational route. All this in the context of dwindling education budgets in general, and a lack of policy focus on the Further Education system.

David Clive Price is a leadership coach and consultant, linguist, author and international speaker. He’s a specialist in cultural intelligence, working with CEOs across the globe. He’s worked and lived all over the world, working variously as a speechwriter, strategist and olive farmer. He says many leaders sit in isolation at the top of their organisation. "I have been privileged to travel, live, and work in many countries around the globe. I’ve had a rich variety of diverse occupations from Cambridge Ph.D. and academic to wine and olive farmer in Italy, to international speechwriter and strategist (for one of the world’s largest banks at the time of the handover of Hong Kong to China), to adviser for a variety of multinationals, especially in Asia, to published novelist – one of my novels ‘Alphabet City’ was set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan – and travel writer. Much of my work over the past two decades has been coaching and mentoring CEOs and business leaders – especially in the area of Cultural intelligence (CQ) and global leadership." - he says.

Adam talks to David Price, Founder and CEO of social media disruptor We Gather about how the business models of current social media platforms encourage what’s most unpleasant about these media. From click bait to fake news David highlights that they reward attention at all costs and don’t facilitate genuine engagement. They also explore what the future has in store for social media.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University ponders what the biggest security threats around the world might be in 2019. He also considers whether what one commentator calls "The Mad World of Theresa May" might have lured the EU into a trap that makes a no-deal Brexit more likely and how the Police in the UK are losing the war against guns.

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre looks at Next, the first of the retailers to reveal how Christmas trading went. As he discusses, soon to come will be Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Tesco, all still struggling to cope with Aldi and Lidl and all facing ongoing restructuring. There's also a trading update coming from Taylor Wimpey which will give an indication of what's happening in the housing sector.

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK holiday box office, led by Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, starring Emily Blunt. He has his head in his hands when discussing the much-derided Holmes & Watson with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. His favoured home release is the much-garlanded Polish film Cold War. James also looks ahead to what he thinks could be some of the biggest movies of the early part of 2019.